It is proposed to use electrochemistry, spectroelectrochemistry and liquid chromatography to elucidate the degradative oxidations of chlorpromazine and its hydroxylated metabolites. It is our belief that a thorough understanding of the chemistry of these materials must be in hand before their important effects on the nervous system can be understood. New information which should result from this work includes 1) redox reactions and oxidation potentials of chlorpromazine and its hydroxylated metabolites in physiological media, 2) nature and reactions of radicals and other transient species formed during chlorpromazine degradation, and 3) interactions of these materials with physiologically occurring moities such as peptide sulfhydryl groups, melanin-like materials, etc. Once a thorough grasp of chlorpromazine chemistry is obtained, recently developed techniques for observing drugs directly in the living animal brain will be used to determine the fate of chlorpromazine and its metabolites in the central nervous system. This in vivo approach will yield insight into which reactions may be of importance to chlorpromazine's beneficial or toxic effects. It will be possible to directly observe the interactions of this class of compounds with neural tissue. By combining the knowledge gained through these efforts with the abundant pharmacological information about chlorpromazine activity, a more profound understanding of the drug's actions should be obtainable. With more insight into the powerful anti-psychotic activity of chlorpromazine, we may begin to understand the nature of the physiological problem which caused the psychotic reaction.